Since its launch, the Hour of Code movement has grown rapidly, reaching tens of millions of students in more than 180 countries and benefiting from generous contributions by many global tech companies including Apple and Microsoft. Former President Barack Obama endorsed Hour of Code summing up the initiative with the following words, "No one’s born a computer scientist, but with a little hard work—and some math and science—just about anyone can become one."

The College’s successful participation in Hour of Code involved computer science and information technology faculty, students and alumni teaching coding, artificial intelligence and security to more than 1,000 K-12 students in Frederick County during the week of Dec. 3-9.Some of Hood’s coding volunteers and instructors shared their experience about teaching computing and giving back to the local community during Computer Science Education Week.

“There are so many different ways you can solve a problem through coding, and every single one of the kids had their own unique touch on how to solve the puzzle,” he said. “Some even baffled me. There were a lot of bright young minds who have bright futures ahead of them.”

Abdullah felt this event was the perfect opportunity to improve his communication and public speaking skills, which will help him as an educator and in any future endeavor he may pursue.

Arundhati Naikavde, on the other hand said, “The event is all about getting the new generation interested in computer science and coding. In the future, almost all jobs will require coding skills. I enjoy teaching and sharing my experience with others and when it comes to CS. I definitely love teaching it. Being a girl, I felt it was much easier to convey the message to other girls to be interested in CS.” Arundhati felt this event helped brush up her skills and her ability to teach complicated concepts in an easy way.

Yashraj Sinha, a student in Hood’s Master in Computer Science program, completed an internship with Cisco Inc. this summer. Yashraj is an international student from India, where he worked for Bosch and Cisco prior to starting his graduate studies at Hood. He answers questions about his experience below.

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Through an integration of the liberal arts and the professions, Hood College provides an education that empowers students to use their hearts, minds and hands to meet personal, professional and global challenges and to lead purposeful lives of responsibility, leadership, service and civic engagement.